Well, I wanted an adventure and got an Adventure!

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I just want to share this amusing flight with you all.I decided I wanted to do some FSing about. So, I downloaded the latest weather with AS6 and looked for precipitation. Hey, snow and 1.75 mile visibility at KLAR. Cool! Smaller airfield, so I took my DF ATR-72.No ILS. Hmmmm. Decided to use the nearby VOR with a slight offset to target Runway 12. Ok, slightly challenging, but sure.FSPasengers and Radar Contact loaded up fine. Off I go!First problem: Autopilot wouldn't engage. Have no idea why. Click on the AP button but no go. Well, have my mouse wheel for trim on my Saitek (!!!) so I just fly it by hand. Besides, Bob is operating the throttles well enough.Second problem: At about time to descend, Bob (who was manning the throttles) decides that the throttles are best used unevenly. No idea why this happened, but it does sometimes with this plane. So I clicked, shoved, clicked and shoved the throttle some more. Finally I got the two levers equal and under my control.Meanwhile, the plane has drifted a couple of hundred feet. RC starts yelling at me. Ok, so I push the yoke a little too hard. Passengers start screaming. Co-pilot Bob, who has been worse than useless, decides to berate me about G'sAt this point I've had it. I close FSPassengers and Radar Contact.I'm going to land this plane. I'm not going to cheat and use GPS or FSNavigator or a map to show my position.Third problem: VOR doesn't work. Maybe related to AP problem. No matter what I do, I can't get the VOR to receive anything. Of course both are busted.I'm not going to give up. I keep pushing and poking and clicking.Finally I got DME to operate!!!!! No direction, but distance!!!!I circle around homing in on the VOR. Drop to about 1000 feet off the deck to see ground. Finally by watching DME go and down I find the VOR. Turn to 109, find the airport and land. Whew.:)

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Guest ps76

Reminds me a little of some of the writing in the book "North Star Over My Shoulder" by Bob Buck (retired TWA 747 Captain). Before there was VOR, Ils there were just beacons which were flown towards on a specific magnetic heading while descending. Sometimes the beacons were by the airfield, sometimes not, sometimes they'd keep descending through the cloud a little longer for a little look etc.Was a good recent read for me:http://www.amazon.com/North-Star-over-My-S...ie=UTF8&s=books

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